Finding work a difficult journey for migrant couples in Gippsland

Through the eyes of a migrant, Gippsland offers employment and a better life, but the process of finding work is proving difficult for some couples. In this ABC Gippsland series follow the journey of people from all over the world who have decided to settle in Gippsland and look for work.

It meant years of being apart, sleepless nights and transporting their family from Pakistan to Australia but now the couple are working side by side as doctors in Sale.

"It was our wish that we could help Australia with our skills to pay back the warm welcome we have received in this country," Abdul says.

Employers often equate a non- Anglo Saxon sounding name with poor English skills or a lack of understanding in the Australian workforce, says employment consultant Rohan Weeraratne.

He also says there is a gap in understanding of where policy makers think skilled migrants should be placed in the workforce and what skills employers are looking for.

"[At a] policy level, these migrants have been assessed, but employers have a very limited understanding of that process. So they will always have questions as to whether these people's qualifications or skills levels are a similar level to Australia," he says.